Conventional input devices generally have a structure in which an input portion of a touch panel is disposed to overlie a display portion such as a display. When the operator directly touches an operation menu displayed on the display, a switch operation is performed on the input portion, and a desired menu is selected and executed.
One of such input devices is known to have a two-step switch constituted of a press-type input portion and an infrared-type input portion, and by reducing the number of press-inputting, the operation burden is relieved (refer to, for example, patent document 1).
Such an input device includes: display means configured to display an operation menu; a contact input-detection portion having an input-operation display on a display of the operation menu and configured to detect an input position where a pressure is applied; space input-detection portions disposed around the contact input-detection portion and configured to detect an object near the input-operation display; and a controller configured to control the display of the operation menu on the basis of a detection result of the space input-detection portion, and to execute selection affirmative processing on the operation menu on the basis of the input position detected by the contact input-detection portion.
The operator can select an operation item without touching the input-operation display of the contact input-detection portion, and thereby the number of operations performed on the contact input-detection portion is reduced, relieving the operation burden.
However, when the input device having a structure with the input portion and the display portion integrated is installed close to a hand of the operator, this causes a burden of moving of the sightline of the operator to the hand, and when installed at a position where the sightline of the operator needs to be moved less, this causes a burden of extending a hand of the operator to the display portion. For this reason, there is known an input device, which relieves the burdens by disposing an input portion and a display portion separately and apart from each other (refer to, for example, patent document 2).
Such an input device includes: a touch panel-type operating portion having an upper surface with operation switches arranged thereon on which an operation is performed with a hand of the operator; a display portion configured to display positions where the operation switches are arranged and an operation menu screen thereof; means configured to capture images of the operating portion and the hand of the operator from the above with a camera; means configured to superimpose and display the captured images on the operation menu screen; and means provided on the operating portion and configured to emit light to the entire operating portion.
An image of a hand on the operating portion captured by the camera is converted to an abstract image, which is superimposed on an operation menu image and displayed. Thereby, the operator can perform so-called blind operations, that is, switch operations performed while looking at the display portion but not directly looking at the input portion.